


The Third Experiment

by jess (jess_m)



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Awesome Wanda Maximoff, BAMF Wanda Maximoff, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), F/F, F/M, Hurt Pietro Maximoff, Kid Pietro Maximoff, Kid Wanda Maximoff, Major Original Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Minor Wanda Maximoff/Vision, Multi, Mutant Powers, Oblivious Pietro Maximoff, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, POV Third Person Limited, Pietro Maximoff Feels, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2018-12-22 07:44:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11962875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jess_m/pseuds/jess
Summary: What if the Maximoffs weren't the only survivors of Strucker's experiments? A young girl who had been best friends with the Maxmoffs since she was a kid ends up being his third survivor, and when Ultron comes to call on the trio, she feels a deeper connection with his ideals than anyone can understand.





	1. Prologue: Out of the Frying Pan

**Author's Note:**

> I do not any plotlines or characters that are originally found in Marvel, I do own rights over Clio and characters created in this story so ask permission before using.

 

The smoke and dust entwined dancing together as the chaos of the search party flooded the street, and in the distance, bombs landing echoed throughout Sokovia.

Two bodies had been uncovered in the rubble of what was once a beautiful large home, looming over the other much smaller houses along the street.

What had once been the best place to play and laugh with friends had been reduced to nothing but rubble with one large missile in the center of it all, threatening to tear apart what was already destroyed.

Avalynn Lackova clung desperately to her antsy daughter, praying that she wouldn’t lose the little girl in the blind madness of the final search day.

The officials had announced, their voices calming the storm of frantic friends and relatives hoping to find the two young twins still trapped inside the debris, that today was the last day they would be searching. 

Nobody could argue, there was a war waging around them. The officials couldn’t spend all their time for two ten-year-olds stuck in the rubble of their own home.

However, to the young Lackova squirming in her mother’s arms, that was worse than hearing her own home had been destroyed.

Clio Lackova had been best friends with the Maximoffs since they were toddlers. They clung to each other’s hands as they took their first steps, Clio went to her first day of school with their family, when Clio ran away from home, she ran straight across the street to their home and hid under Wanda Maximoff’s bed when her mother came looking for her.

They were closer than any of their parents thought possible. They never did a thing without each other, so when Clio got the news that the two people she cared for most in the world might be dead, her world began to crumble away from her.

All that mattered was the debris of the home she had roamed freely growing up and the bodies that were uncovered.

Each second lasted an hour as Clio desperately watched the men in heavy suits kicking and tossing the foundations of her childhood away as if they were simple stones, easy to kick about and emotionless.

She felt her heart shattering as she watched the careless and almost sinful actions being committed by the people who were supposed to save the lives of her best friends. 

Her mother hugged her tightly and each breath from the ten-year-old came labored as she awaited the news that they had found the bodies.

She didn’t believe any other news was possible until one of the men announced that he might have found something under Pietro’s bed.

Clio’s heart stopped and with the force of an adult man, she shoved her mother away and bolted towards the house while her mother desperately cried after her child.

The man pulled out a hand and Clio could feel each second dragging on as if deliberately attempting to torture the young girl as much as possible.

It was only when the living body of Wanda Maximoff was pulled out of the ashes did Clio Lackova break down in tears of joy.

Ignoring all orders to cease, Clio jumped to Wanda and Wanda’s eyes widened when she spotted Clio.

The brunette was wrapped in a dark blanket as they searched for Pietro, but all Wanda could see was the face of Clio Lackova.

It felt like ages since she had seen a face other than that of her dead parents and Pietro. Seeing her best friend made Wanda feel like the weight of the world was being lifted off her shoulders.

The girls immediately ran into a hug and clung to each other as if there was no one else in the world around them.

Soon, Wanda melted into a mess of tears and without hesitation, the ten-year-old took responsibility in comforting her.

Other adults tried to help the young Maximoff, but Wanda needed nothing more than the comfort and knowledge that her best friend would pull her out of the mess her life had crashed into.

Soon enough, they pulled out Pietro and wrapped him in a blanket. He darted to the two girls and the trio embraced in a group hug.

Time faded away as they stood there together, relishing in comfort that they had not felt for days.

The three ten-year-olds had to grow up so fast in the midst of the war, but this had just shoved them into adulthood. They deserved innocence, playing games and giggling about having crushes at school, and yet that was what they had received.

Clio did not ask her mother’s permission before accompanying her friends to the hospital and her mother did not yell when she brought the twins home and told them they could live with her as long as they needed.

They deserved far more than they got, but no matter how bad their life had been, how brutal the war had been, they had each other for comfort.

Adults were too busy with the war, either serving as soldiers, rebelling, or fighting to stay safe. The kids of Sokovia ad nobody but each other to understand and survive the battle.

So when Wanda and Pietro were each awoken by nightmares, Clio was the one to help them while her mother was out rebelling the war until the early hours of the morning.

They didn’t mind. It was their life. They didn’t know anything outside of it.

Which was exactly why in seven years, all three of them would fight for that peace they had never seen.

They would rebel against the war and rebel against the many deaths that it had created, including Clio’s mother when she was just fifteen.

However, as they rebelled they would all find they were heavily outmatched and, desperate for a way to end the war, would turn to a man called Strucker who promised they would become the greatest soldiers Sokovia had ever seen.


	2. The Day the Alarms Went Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm guessing at the age, I'm probably wrong. Don't hate me for it.

The energy danced across her fingertips and she felt transfixed by the beautiful lights. Against the wall to her left, her lifelong friend Pietro Maximoff was still running into the walls uncontrollably.

It had been nine years since the two twins were pulled out of the wreckage of their homes, and they currently sat in the cells of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker who had cursed them with inhuman powers in an attempt to make them greater soldiers.

They were hardly ever let out of those cells.

Each passing hour dragged on slowly as Strucker forced them to practice their powers and hone in on the skills he burned into their young bodies.

However, that all changed the day the alarms went off.

No one had ever managed to find the base that had been their home for nine years.

Nobody.

It was invisible to the naked eye.

So, when an enemy group had somehow managed to both locate and threaten the facility, it had chilled everyone to their very core.

The trio was released and granted clothes in the hopes that if the enemies did reach the building, they would be seen as workers and not human experiments.

However, that wasn’t enough.

Strucker was pulling out all his forces. Every ally he had and tossing them on these enemies. 

“The Avengers,” he called them in his thick German accent.

Nevertheless, these iron gods persevered, tearing down Strucker’s defenses without any trouble.

It both scared and fascinated Clio Lackova. For nine years she had thought Strucker to be an immortal god, untouchable and certainly unreachable, but somehow in just a few short hours, the Avengers had managed to scare Strucker and send the alarms blaring without even reaching the facility.

Clio, Pietro, and Wanda all stood shakily watching Strucker as he stormed through the lab, ordering his forces to do everything in their power to stop the Avengers.

“What do we do?” Clio mumbled.

“Nothing,” Pietro shrugged. “Strucker is in charge. We must do something.”

“But Pietro this place has been our home,” Wanda reasoned. “If these Avengers take it away, what will happen to us?” She wondered.

“She does have a point,” Clio nodded.

“No, she doesn’t,” Pietro snapped. “We must stay.”

“Alright, if you will not go, Clio and I will,” Wanda said, crossing her arms and glaring at her twin brother.

“No you will not,” Pietro said, clenching his jaw.

“Who will stop us?” Wanda smirked and Pietro's eyes widened. He glanced desperately at his sister and Clio, but Clio just granted him a sympathetic look.

Pietro sighed. “Alright,” he grumbled. “We will go.”

“We will not yield!” Strucker cried. “The Americans sent their  _ circus freaks _ to test us. We will send them back in bags,” he turned around and faced his soldiers. “No surrender!” He roared.

“No surrender!” They all chorused back to their lord and master.

The little display of burning testosterone granted Pietro plenty of time to grab the girls and bolt into the woods, leaving the facility unnoticed.

Clio took a deep breath as Pietro placed her down on the ground. She had not felt the fresh wind on her face for nine years. It was beautiful.

It felt like the cool atmosphere was gracing her skin cautiously, attempting to learn the new body she set forth. All the new blood cells and added electricity coursing through her body.

Her bright yellow leather jacket, white crop top and ripped blue jeans exposed her to the cold forest and soon sent her shivering as she clung to the jacket desperately.

Pietro wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm her up, causing her to smile softly at him.

Wanda scowled at the pair and cleared her throat. “Where are they?”

Pietro frowned and glanced around. They all listened carefully as if awaiting someone to shout out and scream, “Hey, I’m an Avenger!”

Soon enough they heard a loud explosion and Pietro sent a small smile towards Clio before racing off towards the deafening sound.

“What was that?” Wanda asked. 

“What?” Clio retorted, her smile fading as she looked up at Wanda.

“You and Pietro, you-,” she began and Clio frowned.

“You cannot be serious,” Clio breathed. “I was in the cell next to him, Wanda. I heard him screaming?” She reminded the young girl. “I used to talk to him through the walls when he had nightmares.”

“You did?” Wanda frowned.

Clio shrugged. “I just wanted to help him. It’s not exactly nice hearing your best friend scream through your wall each and every night.”

Clio heard another loud explosion and her eyes widened. “I’ll go and make sure he is okay,” she said, starting to take off into a run.

“Wait!” Wanda called. “What do I do?!” 

“Head back to the facility! Make sure they do not arrest Strucker!” Clio cried before darting off to the source of the explosion.

Before she could find Pietro, she spotted a man with a red, white and blue shield and gear mirroring the same colors. 

She rolled her eyes and scoffed softly. Americans.

Clio twisted her hand fluidly, allowing her fingers to begin glowing and sparking with electricity. 

She placed her hands together and when she pulled them apart a long stream of electricity that looked a lot like dozens of lightning bolts strung together came out of her hands. She shoved the electricity towards the American roughly, shocking him and scorching his shoulder as he fell to the ground, crying out in pain.

Clio smirked and wiped her hands, proud of her work as the man began to scramble up.

Before she could try to hit him again, a flash of blue grabbed her waist and sped off in the opposite direction.

Little did they know, the star spangled man had seen the pair of them.

“We have two enhanced in the field. One produces some form of electricity,” Steve Rogers announced to his friends through the comms unit in his ear. He fingered the wound the girl had created and winced as it started to heal. “The other is fast. Extremely fast,” he sighed, frowning at the spot they had once inhabited.

Who were those kids?


	3. We're Not At War

“That was reckless!” Pietro exclaimed.

“No, that was smart,” Clio insisted. “He didn’t even see it coming,” she laughed.

“Yes, but he could have hurt you while you were basking in this glory,” Pietro warned.

“Oh, please,” she scoffed. “He is an old man in a young body. He acts older than he is.”

“Clio,” he sighed and she rolled her eyes.

“Why are you so worried? I did not see you doing this with Wanda,” Clio reminded him and he froze.

“Never mind that. Where is she anyway?”

“Back in the facility, I told her she should make sure none of the Avengers reach Strucker,” Clio said and Pietro nodded, raking his fingers through his hair.

“See there it is again!” Clio exclaimed. “You show concern with me but not her. Why?” She wondered.

“Forget it,” Pietro shook his head. “We must get back to her. Do you know where in the building she may be?”

“Either with Strucker or an Avenger I suppose,” Clio shrugged and Pietro nodded once again.

“Come on” he instructed. He picked Clio up bridal style and the pair sped into the building.

They stopped and Pietro dropped Clio, panting from the sheer amount of running. He had not done that much running in one day since he received his powers, it was brutal, especially when you had to carry someone in your arms whilst doing it.

“Pietro,” Clio whispered. “There she is,” she said, pointing to the brunette slyly trailing a man with dark hair who was walking cautiously into one of the many secret doors Strucker held throughout the base.

Pietro took a deep breath and Clio frowned at him. “Do you need a minute?”

He nodded and she smiled softly. She rubbed his back and calmed him down as he took slow, shallow breaths.

Eventually, he regained some strength and nodded to Clio. She grinned and hopped in his arms before the pair followed his sister into the secret room, dissolving into nothing but a blur of blue and yellow as they raced through the hallway leading to a huge room.

It was so huge in fact, that Clio began to wonder how it had been at the facility for nine years without her noticing.

It looked like a world on its own with ashy skies and artifacts that appeared as though they were plucked from another world and tossed onto the planet Earth.

They reached Wanda and Pietro skidded to a stop.

They both spotted the dark haired Avenger and started to march towards him when Wanda placed one hand on each of their chests. They both shot her looks of utter befuddlement.

The dark haired man had a crazed look in his eyes as he took a few steps backward and Clio frowned at Wanda.

“You better know what you are doing,” Clio warned in a whisper.

“Trust me,” Wanda mumbled.

The dark haired man stretched out his hand and a fist of iron wrapped around it. Pietro sighed in irritation. His sister was the one that had convinced them to fight and now she was allowing this strange man to steal the object that had granted them their powers?

“You’re just gonna let them take it?” Pietro said and Wanda rolled her eyes.

“Trust me, Pietro.”

Wanda grinned at the man as he marched towards the scepter and Clio and Pietro shared looks of utter dread as their stomachs knotted tightly.

He grabbed the scepter like some sort of untouchable superhero. He stormed out of the room, talking to some unseen people and Clio turned to Wanda with her hands on her hips.

“What the hell was that? Why did you let him take it? Strucker will kill us,” Clio reminded her best friend.

“He will never know,” Wanda promised. “And that man,” she hesitated, glancing back to the spot he had vacated with glowing red eyes. “He has fears that are so great, they may each him alive. It will destroy him and the scepter will be lost to the Avengers.”

“Why does it need to be so elaborate? Why can’t we just kill them and take the scepter?” Clio wondered.

“Because that man is Tony Stark,” Wanda breathed.

Clio was fairly certain her heart had stopped at the same time as Pietro’s because when she looked up at him, she could almost feel the heart sinking feeling that she knew he was experiencing.

“That _murderer_ is an Avenger?” Clio said.

Wanda nodded and Clio sighed, raking her fingers through her short brown hair. “Okay, we will do this your way. We will see him tear the Avengers apart, but until then, you mentioned something about Strucker never discovering this? What did you mean?” Clio wondered.

“Oh,” Wanda nodded. “We must go.”

“What?!” Pietro and Clio exclaimed and Wanda jumped back in alarm. She had not expected the pair to seem so surprised by the idea.

“When I looked into Stark’s mind I saw more than just his fears. I saw what is happening in the world. Sokovia still stands. We can go back home.”

“Like this?” Pietro sighed, gesturing to his body. They had all agreed on one this when it came to the powers, they should never show them to their childhood friends. While the powers may help in the war, their family and friends would look at them as mutated freaks.

“Do we have another choice?” Wanda asked and neither of them met her gaze.

They didn’t want to admit that she was right. That they had to face the music and admit to their family what they had done, whether they liked it or not.

~~~

“What’s the word on Strucker?” Steve asked Maria Hill, Stark’s assistant and former Agent of Shield.

“Nato’s got him,” she announced.

“The three enhanced?” He prompted.

“Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, and Corri Lackova. Twins and close friend,” she handed them a tablet with a video of the trio shouting and rebelling against the war.

They screamed nasty and vicious words at the armies but their voices were lost amongst the chaos of the large crowd around them.

Steve noticed from the video that Pietro had a tight arm around Clio. Every time he gazed at the younger girl, it screamed all the words he wished he had the guts to say to her.

Steve smirked, he remembered glancing at Peggy with that same gaze a while back. It was nice to see that something’s never change.

The trio all had brown hair at the time, Pietro’s being the only one to change with the repetitive experiments and newfound powers.

They seemed to be as close as ever in the video, bonded through years of shared pain and suffering.

“The twins were orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building,” Maria announced and Steve swiped to the left to find a heartbreaking image of a once tall apartment building reduced to nothing more than rubble and ashes. Outside the building there was a small figure staring at the mess, frozen in place as if she were transfixed by the sheer destruction she was witnessing so young. Steve assumed that young girl was none other than Clio Lackova, desperately awaiting the return of her best friends.

“Clio was orphaned at fifteen, when, after her dad passed away while fighting in the army,” Maria said, and Steve swiped left again to see the credentials of an army man. Myrick Lackova. Died in battle. “Her mother,” Stev swiped left and found an image of a beautiful woman with long brown hair and dirt spread across her face, screaming with rebels much like her daughter did just a year later. “Was killed amongst the rebel groups.

Maria and Steve marched out of the plane as Steve continued to grow interested in the lives of the children and Sokovia itself.

“Sokovia’s had a rough history,” Maria sighed. “It’s nowhere special, but it’s on the way to everywhere special.”

“Their abilities?” Steve prompted.

“He’s got increased metabolism, and improved thermal homeostasis similar to Clio who also has neuro electric interfacing and Wanda has telekinesis, mental manipulation,” Maria explained and froze when she saw Steve’s raised eyebrow.

He was finding it much too difficult to keep up with the complicated, rapid, scientific explanation and Maria noticed. She sighed.

“He’s fast and they’re weird,” Maria simplified and Steve nodded, casting one last apprehensive glance at the image of the kids on the screen.

He felt an odd connection to all three of them but knew they all had it far worse than he ever did during the war. Compared to them, his life was a cakewalk and he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt at that.

“Well, they’re gonna show up again,” Steve announced with a sigh. He didn’t want to hurt the kids, but he had a feeling that was what it was going to come to, and he dreaded it.

“Agreed,” Maria nodded as the elevator dinged and Steve stepped inside. “File says they all volunteered for Strucker’s experiments. It’s nuts,” she told Steve as he clicked the button to go up another floor.

He chuckled and smirked as he turned to Maria. “Right,” he nodded. “What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?” He said sarcastically.

Maria rolled her eyes, still standing by her opinion. “We’re not at war, Captain,” she reminded him.

Steve maintained his cocky, delightful expression as the doors of the elevator began to close. “They are,” he stated simply and the doors slammed shut in Maria’s face.


	4. The Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! It has been so long since I updated this but I got into a really Maximoff type of mood recently so I figured, why not? Hopefully, more updates are to come soon but until then I hope you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> I recognize I made some errors in timeline in the last chapter so allow me to clarify. The timeline as it stands goes:  
> -Clio's dad died in battle when she was nine.  
> -Pietro and Wanda were orphaned and moved in with Clio at ten.  
> -Clio's mother died when she was eleven.  
> -The three of them were out on the streets from eleven to sixteen.  
> -At sixteen they joined the rebel groups.  
> -At seventeen they volunteered for Hydra's experiments.
> 
> I know I made some errors with this in the last chapter and they will be edited but I want those who do not know to go back to understand the timeline as I am writing this. In no way do I claim this to be the timeline Marvel uses with the twins in the movies.

A flash of blue ran up beside Clio and she giggled as a bright red apple was tossed into her hands. 

She giggled softly and took a large bite while Wanda huffed and rolled her eyes at her brother’s irresponsibility.

“You keep stealing you’re going to get shot,” Wanda reminded her brother.

Pietro scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“You can’t be serious,” Clio laughed. “He is faster than light itself,” she smiled and a slight flash of pink blossomed on Pietro’s cheeks at the adoration she greeted him with. “There is no way anybody can even lay a finger on him before he is gone.”

“Sure, at speed nothing can touch you,” Wanda agreed with a nod. “But what happens when he’s standing still?” She implored and their faces fell. “Huh?” She prompted. “He may be fast but he is not bulletproof.”

“Well, then I will protect him,” Clio hummed, glancing up at Pietro with a small smile. “We both can.”

“And who will protect us?” Wanda scoffed.

“We will protect each other,” Clio shrugged. “As we always have, except we now have this,” she muttered, moving her fingers and willing the sparks of electricity to dance across her fingertips.

“Right,” Pietro nodded, grinning at the small demonstration of Clio’s powers. “We’ll be fine.”

“You two act as though you have it all planned out and yet you do not think of the obvious. Where are we to live?” Wanda shrugged. “How are we to get food?”

“Simple,” Pietro said. He sped away and when he came back, he tossed a banana to his sister and smirked at her, walking before the two women with arrogance dripping off him.

“We cannot just steal everything!” Wanda insisted. “We have to get jobs. We have to-.”

“How are we supposed to get jobs?” Clio huffed. “The only work we had before the experiments was helping the rebel groups. All our families think us dead or have been killed in the war themselves,” she sighed. “We have nothing.”

“And all because those fucking Avengers invaded the only place we had left to live,” Pietro murmured.

“And they were lead by Stark,” Clio nodded. “Why did you not let us kill him? We could have easily overpowered him. The three of us.”

“Because,” Wanda moaned, tossing her hands up in the air furiously as he brother and the girl she thought of as a sister stared at her, still unable to understand. “I saw his worst fear.”

“And?” Pietro implored with an impatient wave of his hand. 

“And it terrified me,” Wanda breathed, shaking her head as she stared down at the tiny pebbles she kicked with her feet as she walked, unable to meet the shared look of confusion from her siblings. 

“How is that possible?” Clio wondered. “How can a cold blooded killer have fears worse than what he has done?”

“I do not know,” Wanda confessed. “But whatever it was. I couldn’t understand, I- I remember this pile of bodies, and-.”

“That is nothing,” Pietro frowned. “We have seen much worse.”

“I know,” Wanda nodded. “But in his fear, he was the one responsible. Not the one who had actually killed them, but the one responsible for them being dead.”

“What do you mean?” Clio asked. 

“I mean there was something far worse than just Stark,” Wanda sighed. 

“And that’s why you spared him, I assume?” Pietro guessed. “Because there is something worse that we must deal with?”

“No, I made you spare him because that is not who we are!” Wanda snapped, turning around to the pair with wide eyes, reddened by her emotion sparking her powers. “He may be a killer, but we are not.”

“But look at what he did to you, Wanda!” Clio exclaimed. “You would have been homeless had Mama not allowed you to stay when we were ten,” she reminded the girl.

“I know,” Wanda nodded. “And I also know he is not a very good man.”

“Then why spare him?” Pietro implored.

“Because he is not evil,” Wanda murmured. “And that is enough to give him a chance.”

Clio and Pietro shared a look, both wary of Wanda’s words. Perhaps she had been overwhelmed by what she saw in Tony’s memory and could not think straight.

However, as they watched her carefully, they knew she was serious. Stark was afraid of something much bigger than himself. Something truly horrifying. Something that was able to humanize him in the eyes of even Wanda Maximoff.

“Okay,” Pietro sighed, running his finger through his hair, turning white with countless experiments though his roots still burned brown. He trusted his sister and knew that if she wanted to give Stark a chance, then he certainly deserved one. “Okay, we won’t kill him,” he decided with a nod.

“Alright,” Clio sighed. “But we’re still going to destroy the Avengers, yes?” She clarified. “After what they have done to our home?”

Before Wanda could answer, a figure marched up behind Clio and made her jump as his thin robotic voice spoke to them.

“If you wish to destroy the Avengers, go to the Catholic Baptist Church at the centre of the city.”

Clio spun around with large eyes, her fingers sparking as she stared after the figure donning a cloak and marching away. Wanda’s eyes glowed red, trying to seek out the mind of the stranger but failing and Pietro raced ahead to try and get a look at the person’s face, but when he came back, he simply threw up his hands in defeat.

“What the hell was that?” Clio frowned towards her friends.

“I do not know,” Wanda breathed.

“You couldn’t see inside his head?” Pietro implored with a raised brow. 

Wanda simply shook her head. “No. He moved too fast. I could not focus on him through the crowd.”

Clio nodded and raked her fingers through her brown hair. She had pulled a few strands of hair into small braids, hanging over her unruly brown hair in the hopes of keeping the hair out of her eyes, though for the most part it was tremendously failing. 

She also donned a yellow dress covered by a leather jacket Pietro had stolen for her and some remnants of clothes they had managed to recover from one of their old hideouts before they volunteered for Hydra. 

Before Hydra, after they were all orphans, they lived on the street. They did small and often odd jobs occasionally, but when Wanda was not able to see them, Clio and Pietro usually stole to help them survive.

They all had surviving families outside of Sokovia, but refused to leave their home and refused to go into foster care for the fear of being spilt up.

They all came as a package deal. Hydra knew that and their parents understood that. Nothing and no one would split them up. 

The three had not been apart for more than a few days since they were toddlers and they weren’t about to start just because times got tough. And so, they wound up living in the ruins of houses destroyed in the war.

When the sirens would wail, Pietro and Clio would often ensure Wanda was safe and run across town finding homes of wealthy families that had gone to their bomb shelters. They would steal left on the tables and in the cupboards in the hopes of being able to survive just a few more days.

It was rough and it was scary, but it taught them what they needed to survive on their own as just kids. 

There had never been any question in their minds as to whether or not they should become orphans on the run, hiding away in street alleys and praying never to be found. It just happened. The day they woke up to find Clio’s mother dead, they knew they had no choice but to take what they must and run before they were found in the house alone and forced into foster care.

They would not survive split up. They needed each other like they needed air to breathe.

They didn’t know life without each other and they never wanted to find out what it was. After all, the three were always there for each other during nightmares, during bullying, during the terror the war instilled in their bones. They were the only family and friends they had left and they were never going to let that go.

So when it came down to living on the streets and fighting for survival each and every day with the people they loved most versus being split up and tossed into homes with strangers, the choice was obvious.

Though, it had not always been Clio and Pietro hunting for food and clothes to steal. Pietro had tried to go it alone with some boasted sense of self worth as he thought he was the oldest (granted, it was only by twelve minutes) so he must help them live and he must take the risk.

Clio caught him coming back after the first night, but rather than get angry, she insisted on helping.

Because he may have been the fastest even before the experiments, but he didn’t have the first clue on why types of clothes to buy the girls. 

And so, with her not taking no for an answer, she and Pietro went out as often as possible to get food and supplies for their survival.

Joining the rebel groups in their teens had made it difficult, but not impossible to continue their way of life. Which was exactly what they did until Hydra, without Wanda ever knowing.

Now they were on the streets again and had hoped that they could steal without Wanda getting upset as she would have done when they were children.

They were sadly mistaken.

She believed they could lead better lives. She believed that they didn’t have to be like all the other children orphaned by war out on the streets. 

Little did she know if they planned on surviving as children, they would need to steal food so they could even stand a chance at doing any of the jobs she tried to get for them. 

Clio took a deep breath and nodded as she glanced across the market to the ruined church in the distance. “I say we go.”

“What, just because that strange man said so?” Wanda frowned. “No,” she shook her head. “It’s too risky. I don’t like it.”

“I don’t want to go to the church just because he said we should, I want to go because he said he knew the Avengers!” Clio exclaimed.

“So?” Pietro frowned.

“So,” Clio sighed. “So, he may be the best chance we have at destroying them,” she reminded them. “The Avengers, there are too many of them for just the three of us. We saw that in the woods outside the facility,” she told Pietro. “There we had the element of surprise. Anywhere else we will not.”

“Are you sure it is worth it?” Wanda implored. “It could just be a waste of time,” she shrugged.

“That’s true,” Clio mumbled. “But we will not know until we ask, will we?” She prompted and Wanda hung her head. “Come on, Wanda,” she sighed, walking up and grabbing Wanda’s hands tightly. “This is our best chance to destroy those murderers.”

Pietro sighed softly and glanced down to his sister. “She’s right, you know.”

“Oh, of course you will take her side,” Wanda scoffed. “Fine, we will go,” she conceded with a nod. “Perhaps, it will give me another chance to see inside his head.”

“Perfect,” Clio grinned.

“If you sense trouble in his mind, let us know, yeah?” Pietro prompted and Wanda nodded.

“I’ve got a good feeling about this,” Clio assured them as she draped her arm over Wanda’s shoulders and took Pietro’s hand. “We don’t have to kill them, but I’ll be more than happy to get some revenge for what they have done.”

“That makes two of us,” Pietro sighed, squeezing her hand tightly while she smiled.

They marched through the market, on to the gated area and Clio lifted her hand, ready to peel back the gates with her powers.

“Don’t!” Wanda exclaimed, shoving her hand down and glancing back with large eyes.

“Oh, it is fine,” Clio sighed. “If they did not catch Pietro running they won’t catch this,” she shrugged.

“No,” Wanda shook her head, lowing Clio’s hand and lifting her own. “Let me,” she smirked.

Clio grinned and took a step back as Wanda began twisting her hand, red wisps swirling around her fingers and burning onto the metal gate. She slammed the gates back and they all whirled around with large eyes to make sure nobody heard. 

At the sight of no heads turning, they all shared soft chuckles of relief before heading inside. 

The doors had been blasted through by the bombs and much of the building had crumbled long before they’d arrived.

Since the trio were gone, their home had only fallen into worse states of ruin and though heartbreaking to see, it was an environment they’d had far too much time to grow used to.

There was a chair in the center of the room and on that chair, the same cloak they had seen earlier was wrapped around a figure.

Clio’s eyes widened and she tapped Wanda’s shoulder. “It’s him,” she murmured, nodding to the man.

Wanda nodded and her eyes started to glow red as she focused in on her powers. “Talk,” she demanded. “And if you are wasting our time-.”

“Did you know this church is in the exact center of the city?” The same robotic voice they’d heard before asked. 

Clio and Pietro shared a look of confusion at the sound. If this was a man, why did he sound so much like a robot.

“The elders decreed it so that everybody could be equally close to God,” he sighed. 

The trio began tiptoeing around the back of the chair, desperate to see just who had invited them there.

“I like that. The geometry of belief,” he hummed, then paused, turning his hand to clutch his head. “You’re wondering why you can’t look inside my head.”

Pietro and Clio shared a wide eyed gaze. From what they’d seen of Wanda’s powers, there hadn’t been a single soul able to know when she was inside their head. 

They had to see the face of this mystery man now.

“Sometimes it’s hard,” Wanda muttered. “But sooner or later every  _ man  _ shows himself,” she said, stating the phrase as though his very gender was an insult.

Clio knew why, of course. Her cell had been right in between the twins so she heard the events of both cages. 

She knew that every person who walked into Wanda’s cell had been male, and she knew that more often than not the doctor’s that treated the girl had molested her as they were taking the readings. 

She knew that every time a man tried to help Wanda, she was suspicious of their intentions now. 

She knew that her best friend had been broken and hurt one too many times and was hard pressed to trust anything that seemed too good to be true.

That was why, despite being just barely older than Clio, she had become like a mother to the trio. She had grown so protective in the fear that no matter how simple and sweet things may seem, the only family she had would be ripped apart and forced to endure so much more pain. Like the pain she had endured at the hands of the Hydra men.

The man stood up then and dropped his cloak, revealing himself to be a bright and shining robot with gleaming red eyes as though he were a character from a horror film.

“Oh, I’m sure they do,” he hummed.

Clio heard Wanda suck in a sharp gasp and stand back, her eyes wide as she stared at the robot. Meanwhile, Clio herself had jumped back, her eyes shining yellow for a single moment as though her powers were fighting to take over and destroy the source of her terror.

Pietro grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly as they stared at the robot, fearful of what he may want from them.

“But you needed something more than a man,” the robot told Wanda, marching down toward her. “That’s why you let Stark take the scepter.”

Wanda cast a hesitant glance toward Clio and Pietro, unsure if she should indulge the robot or just run.

Pietro paused for a moment, thinking, before giving her a steady nod.

Wanda took a deep breath and met the red eyes of the robot cautiously. “I didn’t expect,” she muttered and nodded toward the robot.

Clio was sure nobody could have expected Stark to built some six foot robot just because he was afraid.

“But I saw Stark’s fear,” Wanda sighed. “I knew it would control him. Make him self destruct.”

“Everyone creates the thing they dread,” the robot hummed, marching away from them, further into the church. “Men of peace create engines of war, invaders create Avengers,” he listed. “People! Create,” he hesitated, his face falling as he thought on what he intended to say.

Clio glanced back at Pietro and raised an almost amused brow. Were they really listening to the philosophical ramblings of some robot? Pietro scoffed and simply shrugged, as dumbfounded by the idea as she was.

“Smaller people?” the robot frowned, unsure if that’s what he was looking for to finish his thought. “Children!” He exclaimed with a laugh. “I lost the word,” he chuckled.

“I didn’t think we’d be listening to some madman to get rid of the Avengers,” Clio murmured.

“He stands a better chance than the three of us alone,” Pietro shrugged. “We might as well give him a chance.”

“I suppose,” Clio nodded. She just wished she wasn’t the ones that brought her friends to the doorstep of the strange robot.

“Children,” the robot sighed. “Designed to supplant them. To help them,  _ end _ .”

“Is that why you’ve come?” Wanda asked. “To end the Avengers?” She guessed.

“I’ve come to save the world,” the robot proclaimed. “But also-.”

“Save the world by destroying the Avengers?” Clio assumed.

“Yeah,” the robot shrugged. 

“But who are you?” Clio breathed. “Why did Stark make you?”

“Oh, my apologies,” the robot chuckled. “I’ve been so rude as to not introduce myself,” he sighed. “I am Ultron. Stark made me in the hopes of protecting the world from outside threats. He just didn’t see that the biggest threat against humanity eas of this moment, is him and his silly little Avengers.”

“So, you’re going to stop them,” Wanda nodded. “But how?” She wondered.

“Come with me and I’ll show you,” Ultron said simply. He marched through a corridor leading to another part of the church and the trio shared hesitant looks.

This was a moment where they could easily run without him being able to track them down again.

“Should we trust it?” Pietro mumbled.

“He seems genuine,” Wanda shrugged.

“I don’t like that you can’t get inside his head,” Clio sighed. “I don’t like not knowing what he’s thinking.”

“I can tell most of it from his body language,” Wanda nodded. “Unless he is lying, it seems he truly want to kill the Avengers.”

“But I thought we weren’t going to do that,” Clio frowned. “‘Give him a chance’, remember?”

“I know that,” Wanda said. “But we don’t have to be the ones to kill them. He can do that on his own. We just wish to tear them apart.”

“And he’s our best chance of doing that,” Clio mumbled. “Okay, but if he makes any move to hurt one of us, I am leaving, no matter if he wants to destroy the Avengers or not.”

“Fair enough,” Wanda nodded and began heading down the corridor to follow Ultron. 

“Are we sure about this?” Pietro sighed. “He isn’t even human.”

“Technically, neither are we,” Clio shrugged. “Not anymore.”

“Yes, but-.”

“Pietro, if we sit here debating whether or not it is worth it to follow a robot, we could be here all year,” Clio huffed. “Meanwhile, Ultron has a plan and if we do not follow him, we will miss our opportunity to get our revenge,” she insisted. “We have to do this.”

“Alright,” Pietro sighed. “I just don’t like it,” he shrugged.

“I know,” Clio nodded. “But right now, it’s this or allowing the Avengers and more importantly, Stark, to get away with what they have done and I don’t want to live with that.”

“Okay,” Pietro smiled softly. “Let’s go,” he said and wrapped an arm around Clio.

She grinned and they headed to follow Wanda and Ultron through the church. 

They walked towards a large opened where lots of machines seemed to be working. Upon closer inspection, Clio noticed that there were not just machines but dozens of smaller robots working.

“We’ll move out right away,” Ultron announced. “This is a start, but there’s something we need to begin the real work.”

“All of these are…,” Wanda trailed off, a silent question in her voice.

“Me,” Ultron finished with a nod. He started flying up a few feet and grabbed onto one of the chains dangling from the machine. He tugged it downward and continued flying as he carried on speaking. “I have what the Avengers never will: harmony. They’re discoordinate. Disconnected. Stark’s already got them turning on each other,” he hummed. “And when you get inside the rest of their heads,” he began.

Pietro just scoffed and rolled his eyes, having already expected this to come. “Everyone’s plan is not to kill them,” he huffed and Wanda shot a look at him.

“Why wouldn’t you want to kill them?” Clio wondered, ignoring the venomous glare Wanda was giving them. “There is nothing to stop you.”

“It makes them martyrs,” Untrol sighed, flying back towards them.

“You still want to kill them?” Wanda moaned.

“I want justice,” Pietro insisted. “And revenge, like Clio said.”

Wanda then turned her daggers on Clio who’s eyes widened. She stepped back, raising her hands in surrender.

“Do not look at me like that,” Clio scoffed. “I just think Stark should pay for what he did and those Avengers should understand what it is to lose their homes and the only place they can feel safe seeing as they took that from us,” she scowled.

“You need patience,” Ultron insisted, watching Clio carefully as she just rolled her eyes. “Aim to see the big picture,” he suggested with a shrug.

“I don’t see the big picture,” Pietro snapped, his voice wavering with emotion as he spoke. “I have a little picture. I take it out and look at it,” he muttered. “Everyday,” he breathed.

Wanda opened her mouth to speak, but words failed her as the wave of emotion came crashing down on her.

“Pietro,” Clio mumbled, placing her hand on his chest and turning from Ultron. “We don’t need to talk about it.”

“But we do,” Pietro nodded. “This is why we’re doing all of this, is it not? Should he not know just what the Avengers have done?”

Clio turned back and narrowed her eyes at Ultron who landed on the ground before them. “You lost your parents in the bombings and you lost them to the war,” he said, nodding to the twins and Clio in turn. 

“How did you know that?” Clio asked, turning back to him.

“I’ve seen the records,” Ultron responded simply.

“Their records are not the picture,” Pietro snapped. 

“Pietro,” Wanda tried, recognizing that this was heading towards a detailed discussion of just how their parents died. Something she did not want to think about after the day she’d had.

“No, please,” Ultron insisted, waving them onward.

Pietro glanced down at Clio and she gulped harshly before nodding to him, silently telling him to tell the story. No matter how hard it may be.

“We were ten years old,” Pietro sighed. “Having dinner, just her and our parents,” he said, nodding to Wanda as he turned back to look at Ultron. “When the first shell hits two floors below it makes a whole in the floor. It’s  _ big _ ,” he hummed, his eyes widened as he recalled the memory from his terrified ten year old mind. 

“The hole collapsed the building,” Clio muttered. “I heard it from across the street where I was sleeping,” she winced, tears blurring her vision as she recalled running outside in nothing but her nightgown and screaming at the building where her best friends lived as it collapsed. “I thought they were already dead,” she breathed. “I thought my two closest friends were gone.”

“But our parents went in the hole,” Pietro nodded. “And the whole building starts coming apart. I grab her,” he said, gesturing vaguely toward Wanda. “Roll under the bed and the second shell hits,  _ but  _ it doesn’t go off. It just sits there in the rubble three feet from our faces,” he sighed.

Clio felt Wanda grab her hand and squeeze tightly. None of them had spoken about that day to each other or even tried to recall the events that had destroyed them mentally and left them as orphans. Thinking back on it now the memories couldn’t help but replay themselves over and over as though they were still there. Children, wondering how so much destruction and pain could be inflicted on them so young.

“And on the side of the shell,” Pietro murmured. “Is painted one word.”

“Stark,” Wanda finished, her voice thick with emotion as she spoke. Her eyes glowing red as her powers sparked at the pain sitting heavy on her heart. “Every effort to save us,” she sighed. “Every shift in the bricks I think- this will set it off,” she mumbled. 

Wanda glanced back up at Ultron, her jaw clenched as she stared at the robot. “We wait for two days for Tony Stark to  _ kill us _ .”

“He kept them trapped down there,” Clio sighed, glancing back at Wanda and wrapping a single arm around the brunette in a side hug as she spoke. “They almost gave up the search because they couldn’t move. Under the mattress they couldn’t be heard and they were thought to be dead. If they had never been found Tony Stark would have murdered them just the same.”

Clio scoffed and hung her head. “And he didn’t stop there,” she sighed. “My mother was apart of the rebel groups. She wanted to stop the war after it had killed my father. She was always gone. Always working with them and standing at protests until one day when I was eleven years old, I woke up and went outside to play only to find her body in the street along with a dozen other rebels,” she muttered, her lower lip trembling.

Clio placed her hand over her mouth and took a deep breath as Wanda placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

“The rebel groups were bombed and only one many was responsible for the missiles that did it,” Clio murmured.

“Stark,” Pietro said for her, clenching his jaw at the very memory of running out after Clio that day only to find her sobbing over the body of her dead mother.

Like some street advertisement, the building across from them had a shell sticking out with ‘Stark Industries’ painted in large letters. 

He was the reason they had to run. He was the reason they were all orphans and he was the reason each day had been a fight to survive and stick together for most of their lives.

Tony Stark had destroyed them and even still they had thought on showing some form of kindness to the man they didn’t entirely understand yet.

“I know what they are,” Pietro mumbled, nodding calmly towards Ultron.

“I wondered why only you three survived Strucker’s experiments,” Ultron hummed. “Now I don’t. We will make it right,” he assured the trio. “The three of us can hurt them,” he said, nodding to Clio and Pietro. “But  _ you _ will tear them apart from the inside,” he mumbled, framing Wanda’s face with his metal hand as though she were priceless china he wouldn’t dare shatter.


End file.
